Best Buy denies claims in nude photo lawsuit

Store being sued for negligence over scandal

Best Buy denies claims of negligence and invasion of privacy in a lawsuit filed by a young woman who claims that Geek Squad employees posted nude pictures of her on the Internet after finding the images on her hard drive while servicing the computer.

File | Dusty Compton | The Tuscaloosa News

By Ed EnochStaff Writer | The Tuscaloosa News

Published: Thursday, September 12, 2013 at 11:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, September 12, 2013 at 11:24 p.m.

Best Buy Stores LP is denying the allegations in a lawsuit by a University of Alabama student who claims the staff of its Tuscaloosa store improperly obtained nude photos of her while performing maintenance on her computer.

In a response filed Wednesday, the company denied claims by Nicole A. March that employees of the Best Buy store in Tuscaloosa and its technical support service Geek Squad invaded her privacy and breached a customer contract and that it was negligent in the supervision and training of its employees.

The attorney for Best Buy Stores did not return a call for comment on Thursday.

March, who filed a civil lawsuit on Aug. 9 in federal court, is seeking unspecified punitive and compensatory damages.

March, a one-time employee at the Tuscaloosa store, claims nude photos she made of herself for private use were copied and posted on file-sharing websites without her permission sometime after she used the Geek Squad at the store in August 2011 to recover data from her hard drive.

She claims she was informed in May by a Geek Squad employee that copies of the photos were on the Internet.

March filed a report with the Tuscaloosa Police Department on May 20 but the case was closed because it had exceeded the statute of limitations.

<p>Best Buy Stores LP is denying the allegations in a lawsuit by a University of Alabama student who claims the staff of its Tuscaloosa store improperly obtained nude photos of her while performing maintenance on her computer.</p><p>In a response filed Wednesday, the company denied claims by Nicole A. March that employees of the Best Buy store in Tuscaloosa and its technical support service Geek Squad invaded her privacy and breached a customer contract and that it was negligent in the supervision and training of its employees.</p><p>The attorney for Best Buy Stores did not return a call for comment on Thursday.</p><p>March, who filed a civil lawsuit on Aug. 9 in federal court, is seeking unspecified punitive and compensatory damages.</p><p>March, a one-time employee at the Tuscaloosa store, claims nude photos she made of herself for private use were copied and posted on file-sharing websites without her permission sometime after she used the Geek Squad at the store in August 2011 to recover data from her hard drive.</p><p>She claims she was informed in May by a Geek Squad employee that copies of the photos were on the Internet.</p><p>March filed a report with the Tuscaloosa Police Department on May 20 but the case was closed because it had exceeded the statute of limitations.</p><p>Reach Ed Enoch at ed.enoch@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0209.</p>